Integrating Strategies of Acceptance and Commitment, Traditional Behavioral, Nutritional and Physical Activity for the Management of Obesity. A Pilot Study

Abstract

Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases, treatable with physical activity, a diet with caloric restriction and nutritional education, including the psychological components that mediate adherence to these habits. In a multiple baseline abca design among participants, the goal was to identify changes in: number of steps, caloric expenditure, physical fitness, anthropometric indicators, mindfulness, experiential avoidance and psychological factors related to eating behavior in 4 adults, through a multicomponent intervention (concurrent training, diet, nutritional education, standard behavioral strategies and act training). The average of daily steps and the kilo-caloric expenditure increased in the majority of participants, and there was an improvement in the majority of anthropometric indicators. However, the same did not happen with physical fitness (except for the increase in strength in lower limbs), nor with the behavioral aspects evaluated. Finally, the findings are discussed to improve further research.Keywords: Obesity, behavior modification, physical activity, dietary restraint, acceptance and commitment therapy.